An Angels fan tries to get Mike Trout to sign his giant poster before the Sept. 23 game against the White Sox. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

ANAHEIM – It's pretty hard to miss.

Every night when the Angels go to work, their competition is spelled out right in front of them on the 18-foot high right-field wall – in direct line of sight from the home dugout and updated inning by inning.

"You kind of have to, I guess," Angels outfielder Mark Trumbo said of giving in to the temptation to 'scoreboard watch' as the American League wild-card race plays out.

"It's plastered all over the place. It'd be pretty hard not to notice when it's right there in front of you. You kind of see where you are, what everybody else is doing. I don't think it does any good to pay too much attention to it. The bottom line is if you're not taking care of your own business, it's not going to matter."

Angels manager Mike Scioscia plays a season-long game of 'pretend' – pretending he doesn't know his team's win-loss record or its place in the standings. Recently, though, he admitted "it's relevant now" to be aware of those things.

The Angels players weren't waiting for his permission.

"You're cognizant of what's going," Angels outfielder Vernon Wells said. "If you talk to most guys and they're honest with you, they're probably keeping track all year. If you're a fan of the game and how other guys are doing, you're going to pay attention.

"Just look what's on every TV in here (the Angels clubhouse)."

On most days, those televisions are turned to baseball coverage on ESPN or MLB Network. So the Angels are well aware not only of the daily status of the other wild-card contenders – but also of the different schedule challenges of their rivals (like the seven matchups between the A's and Rangers in the final 10 days).

"Really, the only time you don't think about it is when you're out there playing the games," Angels reliever Kevin Jepsen said.

And Angels catcher Chris Iannetta doesn't need the importance of those games spelled out for him on a bright LED screen.

"The most important thing is to take care of yourself," Iannetta said. "If we don't do that, you're in the position of wishing for something that's improbable."

ROTATION PLANS

Right-hander Ervin Santana has been one of the Angels' most consistent starters over the past month and a half. He is 5-2 with a 3.08 ERA in his past 10 starts, going at least five innings and allowing five hits or less in each of those starts (the longest such streak in franchise history).

But he will move back in the rotation and make just one more start in the regular season, on seven days' rest Saturday in Texas -- where he is 6-6 with a 7.08 ERA in 15 career starts.

"There's a lot of things we looked at," Scioscia said of a rotation that will have C.J. Wilson and Dan Haren pitching the next two games against the Mariners with Jered Weaver, Santana and Zack Greinke lined up for the three-game series in Texas this weekend.

"Dan has been throwing the ball well, especially against Seattle (2-1 with a 2.33 ERA this season). Giving Ervin a little bit of a longer break also helps if we need him for the last series in some bullpen role. ... There's a lot of things we've sliced up here the last 10 days, trying to look at our rotation."

Santana would also be an option to pitch on regular rest if the Angels find themselves in a tiebreaker game for a playoff spot next Thursday. Pitching Greinke on short rest would also be an option for a tiebreaker game.

NOTES

The Angels' player development affiliation in the Class-A Midwest League will change in 2013 from the Cedar Rapids Kernels to the Burlington (Iowa) Bees. The Angels had been affiliated with Cedar Rapids for the past 20 seasons but the Kernels signed a development agreement with the Minnesota Twins for the next four years beginning in 2013. The Angels' player development contract with the Bees is for two years. ... Scioscia dismissed the idea that this past weekend's comments by Angels owner Arte Moreno, assuring that Scioscia would return as manager next season, relieved any tension or distraction in the Angels' clubhouse caused by speculation about his job status. "I think these guys are focused on the task at hand and what we need to do," Scioscia said. "I don't think anything that was going on was a distraction to these guys."

WEDNESDAY

Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson (12-10, 3.82) is scheduled to start against Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez (13-8, 2.85). Game time is 7:05 p.m. and it will be broadcast on FSW, KLAA/830 AM and KWKW/1330 AM in Spanish.

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